CHOOSING YOUR SURGEON
There are many types of medical practitioners that offer cosmetic procedures and as a consumer you need to ask yourself whom you would like to perform your procedure? If you would like to be treated by someone who has achieved the highest level of qualification achievable in Australia for the delivery of plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures then you should seek a Specialist Plastic Surgeon.
In Australia, fully qualified Specialist Plastic Surgeons such as Dr Watts have at least 12 years of total medical and surgical education and have studied within a specialist surgery program for a minimum of five years. To be a Specialist Plastic Surgeon you are required to train in plastic surgery exclusively for FIVE years before completing the fellowship examinations with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
To identify a fully qualified Specialist Plastic Surgeon look for evidence that they are members of the AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF PLASTIC SURGEONS (ASPS). They will also have the subtitle (PLAS) after their surgical qualification of FELLOW OF THE ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS (FRACS).
Whereas, cosmetic surgeons can be anybody with a degree in medicine and an interest in cosmetic procedures. Due to the paucity of government regulation they are not required to have any formal surgical training after medical school in order to practice under the title of cosmetic surgeon.
As a member of the public it can be very difficult to ascertain the true qualifications of your surgeon. For a simple and unbiased place to clarify your health practitioner’s qualifications you can check what registration type they have with the Australian Government. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) details the highest level and type of qualification that a practitioner holds. Just follow the link and enter the practitioner’s name. Once you have identified the right practitioner click on ‘view details’. Under ‘registration type’ and ‘specialty’ their unbiased qualifications will be displayed. We would strongly suggest that you check this prior to seeing anyone advertising as a cosmetic surgeon. (https://www.ahpra.gov.au)
